One of the finest U.S. men's high jumpers to come along in years, Manson took his place among the nation's finest with his runner-up finish at the 2008 Olympic Trials...after winning the 2008 U.S. Indoor title, in his first international competition on the elite level, Manson tied for bronze in the men's high jump at the 2008 World Indoor Championships with a season best 2.30m/7-6.5...Manson enjoyed a strong season in 2006 that ended with his second career top-five U.S. ranking from Track & Field News (#4). A low-key young man who early in his career developed a habit of soaring just as high as he had to in winning high jump competitions, Manson became known for stopping at a competition once he had won the event, declining to try a higher height, which is a rare trait among high jumpers. Manson displayed his abilities in an impressive manner in Kingston, Jamaica, at the 2002 World Junior Championships, winning the event with an American Junior record clearance of 2.31m/7 feet, 7 inches, which helped earn him the Track & Field News High School Athlete of the Year Award that year. Manson cleared 10 heights in a row at the competition, which included a then PR of 2.25m/7-4.50. He then proceeded to clear 2.27m/7-5.25 and 2.29m/7-6, before setting the American record, shattering the previous standard of 2.30m/7-6.50 by Dothel Edwards in 1985. Although he had the event won, contrary to his usual practice, Manson made three attempts at 2.33m/7-7.75. Manson told Track & Field News at the time that his performance in Kingston was just a sample of things to come. "I look at it like this, "he said. "Things like that don't surprise me because Ive always told my coach as long as I keep working out, I can't help but get better. Going 7-7, yeah, its awesome and its a good thing to do, but my goal is to have a record of 8-2, or something like that." His performance in Kingston was preceded by a month and a half long stint working the graveyard shift, 6:00 p.m.-3:00 a.m., at a Sealy Mattress factory in Brenham. A 20-point per game scorer as a high school basketball player, Manson once jumped over an opposition player for a dunk on a breakaway.